PRIMARY | TECH | TEACHING

With me transitioning from 4th grade from 1st, I knew it would be a good time to switch things up a little bit in terms of classroom design. The funny part about me moving grade levels and classrooms is that my new classroom has the exact same dimensions and is in the same spot, but just on the opposite side of the school (our building is set up with hallways for K-2 and 3-5). With this change I wanted to create at least one space that showed how we are working together to achieve great things.

I'll admit that I hate themes. I know that hate is a strong room, but I don't understand why people spend hundreds of dollars to have all these decorations around their classroom. Do lights, crazy furniture, and things hanging from everywhere really help the learning environment in your classroom? Research can always be skewed, but I really doubt it. I believe less is more when it comes to decorations and too much can be very distracting.

Over the summer I heard a quote from Kristin Ziemke that really stuck with me. "Dream of a classroom where...learning is joyful, choice is valued, roles are redefined, work is authentic" I'm not a person that is a huge fan of quotes and they hardly ever speak to me, but I knew that I wanted this quote of hers to be visible in my classroom. I decided to use Canva to create the poster. If you've never used this tool, it is time to start. Shoot me an email if you're interested in the poster.

The first day of school I took a picture of all my students. I once again used Canva to add a background and their names. The frames I used were the $1 from Walmart and used 3M hangers to hold them on the wall.

The response from families has been great. Students love seeing their faces on the wall and it shows how all of us are working together, growing together, and learning together.